The former directors and chief executive of Kids Company have been told the Business Secretary intends to bring court proceedings seeking to disqualify them from running or controlling companies.

The Insolvency Service has written to the collapsed charity’s former board, and its founder and chief executive Camila Batmanghelidjh, to inform them of the move which would seek bans of between 30 months and six years.

A spokesperson for the Insolvency Service said in a statement that the proceedings will name all nine former directors; Sunetra Devi Atkinson, Erica Jane Bolton, Richard Gordon Handover, Vincent Gerald O’Brien, Francesca Mary Robinson, Jane Tyler, Andrew Webster, and chair Alan Yentob.

“The former chief executive Camila Batmanghelidjh was not formally a director at the time the charity collapsed, however the proceedings will allege that she acted as a de facto director and should therefore also be disqualified from running or controlling other companies.”

The spokesperson said that it is not appropriate to comment further on the action with the matter set to be tested in the courts.

London-headquartered Kids Company closed in August 2015 after 19 years of operation, citing insufficient funding.

Subsequent inquiries from the National Audit Office, Public Accounts Committee, and Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee found the charity had received more than £46m in central and local government funding over its existence.

The investigations were critical of the lack of oversight of how the money was spent and the financial sustainability of the charity.

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